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James Lee DiMaggio fired at FBI before he was killed; girl, 16, wasn't with him willingly, police say

Burned Bodies Missing_LaMo(1).jpg

San Diego County Sheriff William Gore speaks at a a news conference where he answered limited questions regarding the kidnapping and rescue of Hannah Anderson Monday, Aug. 12, 2013, in San Diego. James Lee DiMaggio, 40, suspected of killing Anderson's mother and brother before fleeing with her in the Idaho wilderness, was killed in a shootout with law enforcement on Saturday. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

SAN DIEGO -- A close family friend suspected of abducting a 16-year
old girl after killing her mother and younger brother fired his rifle at
FBI agents before they killed him deep in the Idaho wilderness,
authorities said Monday.

Hannah Anderson didn't know her mother and brother were dead until
she was rescued from 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio, San Diego County
Sheriff Bill Gore said.

"I can't make it any clearer: She was a victim in this case. She was
not a willing participant," Gore said at a news conference with Hannah's
father, Brett Anderson.

During a shootout with the FBI, DiMaggio fired at least once and perhaps twice, the sheriff explained.

Hannah Anderson reunited with family in San Diego to begin what her
father said would be a slow recovery. He thanked the horseback riders
who reported seeing the pair near an alpine lake, saying the search
might have taken much longer without them.

"She has been through a tremendous, horrific ordeal," said Brett
Anderson, who declined to answer questions and pleaded for privacy.

Gore declined to address how Hannah's mother and brother died,
describe Hannah's captivity or say whether she tried to escape. The
sheriff also refused to discuss the rescue or how many times DiMaggio
was shot, other than to say the suspect is believed to have fired first
and that Hannah was nearby.

Gore said the crime was "not spur of the moment" but would not
elaborate. Sheriff's Capt. Duncan Fraser said last week that
investigators believe DiMaggio may have had an "unusual infatuation"
with the girl.

DiMaggio is suspected of killing 44-year-old Christina Anderson and
8-year-old Ethan Anderson and leaving their bodies in his burning home
near San Diego on Aug. 4. Hannah's disappearance triggered a massive
search in much of the Western United States and parts of Canada and
Mexico that ended with Saturday's shootout and rescue.

A DiMaggio family friend, Andrew Spanswick, said the suspect appears
to have followed in his father's footsteps in a carefully laid plan. His
house burned down exactly 15 years after his father disappeared.
Saturday's shootout came exactly 15 years after his father committed
suicide.

The younger DiMaggio "clearly had a death wish," Spanswick said.

The father, James Everet DiMaggio, was arrested after breaking into
the home of his ex-girlfriend in 1988, wearing a ski mask and a carrying
a sawed-off shotgun and handcuffs, Spanswick said. The former
girlfriend wasn't home, but DiMaggio held her 16-year daughter and her
boyfriend at gunpoint. The girl escaped after asking to use the
bathroom.

The elder DiMaggio was later imprisoned for a separate attack and
died in 1999 after consuming a large amount of methamphetamine
intravenously and walking into the desert.

The massive for Hannah Anderson probably would have taken longer if
not for a sharp-eyed retired sheriff and three other horseback riders in
the rugged backcountry hadn't seen the pair Wednesday. Gore called it
the "key event" in the search.

Mark John, who retired as a Gem County sheriff in 1996, shared his
suspicions with the Idaho State Police after encountering DiMaggio and
the girl on the trail. That enabled investigators to focus efforts on a
specific portion of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, a
roadless 3,600-square-mile preserve in the heart of Idaho.

"They just didn't fit," said John, 71. "He might have been an
outdoorsman in California, but he was not an outdoorsman in Idaho. ...
Red flags kind of went up."

Initially, it was the lack of openness on the trail and a reluctance
to engage in the polite exchange of banter like so many other
recreationists John has encountered during horseback excursions.

The riders were puzzled why Anderson and DiMaggio were hiking in the
opposite direction of their stated destination, the Salmon River.

But more than anything, it was their gear -- or lack of it. Neither
was wearing hiking boots or rain gear. DiMaggio, described as an avid
hiker in his home state of California, was toting only a light pack. It
even appeared Anderson was wearing pajama bottoms.

The riders had a second encounter Wednesday, this one at the lake as they were getting ready to head back down the trail.

But it wasn't until Thursday afternoon when the Johns returned home
and saw the girl's photographs on the news that they made a connection
and notified police.

On Friday, police found DiMaggio's car, hidden under brush at a
trailhead on the border of the wilderness area. A day later, searchers
spotted the pair by air, and two FBI hostage teams moved in on the camp
at Morehead Lake, about 8 miles inside the wilderness border and 40
miles east of the central Idaho town of Cascade.

Rescue teams were dropped by helicopter about 2 1/2 hours away from
where Anderson and DiMaggio were spotted by the lake, said FBI spokesman
Jason Pack. The team had to hike with up to 100 pounds of tactical gear
along a rough trail characterized by steep switchbacks and treacherous
footing.

DiMaggio was extraordinarily close to the family, driving Hannah to gymnastics meets and Ethan to football practice.